Unforgettable Tamil Nadu

Dad was keen on not laying around the house in the Diwali vacation last year. He spent months (some midnight's too), planning the trip to Tamil Nadu, 2018. We had 5 destinations on our list; starting from the bottom i.e. Kanyakumari and traversing along the coast, we would halt at Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Pondicherry up to Chennai.

We chose train journey over an air ticket to witness the stories of the beautiful greenery of South India. We were not disappointed. Every now and then I would leave my seat to stand near the train door to breathe the fresh air and try to absorb the myriad of colors nature had to offer.

The train was an hour late which made us get down at every station to check if we reached (since small town railways stations lack name plates). We were unprepared for the destination, surprisingly it did not have a physical platform at all! It had a small cabin with its name; Nagercoil Town', facing the road ahead rather than the station. Kanyakumari was half hour drive from here. Internet does makes things simple. We had booked not only our hotels but also our cabs online, which was certainly not possible 15 years ago.

According to 'Google maps' all the places to visit were walking distance from one another. However, we were correct to rent a rickshaw rather than blister ourselves in the sun. In the evening we went to the Vattakkottai fort. Unlike forts in North India, which have a sense of 'protection' due to the size and scale of its built form; this fort had open large courts, grass had grown all over, it seemed like a public plaza. As a backdrop, the fort has the Kanyakumari beach. Clean water gushed across the shore. We stayed there as long as we could, to appreciate the silence, walk bare foot on the grass and stare into the horizon.

It is said that only the lucky ones get to witness the breath-taking sunrise in Kanyakumari. We googles the sunrise time and set the alarm for the next day. We sat along the coast the following morning, it had tetra-pods like the ones on Marine Drive. I had my camera ready for a time-lapse video. The sunrise time passed. We waited. Another 15 minutes passed, we waited. As the sky grew brighter we realized it was not our lucky day.

Sea Shore, Kanyakumari

We visited the Padmanabhapuram palace in the day. At the entrance the details crafted in wood catch the eye. The palace has a humane scale unlike other palaces I have visited that feel majestic. There are no guides to take you on a tour except two people stationed near the entrance of the palace who give less than minimum information about the palace. One is able to navigate the palace by help of arrows. The wooden roof mastered by the south Indian craftsmen is constructed without the help of architectural drawing but purely by experience and knowledge. The windows and doors were hinge-free, they worked on a simple principle of ball-socket joint. The windows were inclined probably to avoid the influx of heavy rains. The constantly changing scale of the building that transport you from one place to the other and the in-between where you come across the Indian toilets, the trap doors, the surang (hidden passageway), the courtyards, the balconies, the bridges, the gardens and the dance hall contribute to an amazing experience while exploring the Palace.

Later, once we had visited other places on our list, the cab driver suggested us a trip to Poovar backwaters in Trivandrum which was only 40kms from our location, given that we had plenty of time. My words cannot do justice to what we experienced next. A motor boat took us in the backwaters, into the dense trees, The weather was cloudy, the landscape reflected into the still water creating a mirror image. We went further into the dense forest just to enter a large river which meets the Arabian Sea. We crossed the river to reach a linear small patch of island separated by water. The sun could be seen partially. The beach was empty. There was immense beauty in the silence. I could hear the breeze, the gushing of the waves on the shore and my heart beating excitedly. My mind has video-graphed the journey in the backwaters. I have played it again and again since I came back home!

Madurai was the next destination. We roamed the street markets in the evening. they were unorganized, one has to make their way across the maze of hawkers and street vendors. A few shops had speakers hung outside that advertised their retail. The market gave a mix feeling of the smell of spices, the amplified sounds of unrecognizable words and bright lights that one must experience while traversing the streets. The famous drink of Jigarthanda was worth travelling for, in a rickshaw on crooked streets, 30 minutes away from our hotel, midst unbearable traffic. We had the best dosa I have ever had at Aiyappan Dosa outlet. We did not bore of eating dosa in breakfast every day.

The following morning we woke up at dawn to travel to Rameshwaram. We were most excited to cross the oldest Pambam Bridge, which used to lift in the middle in its early years. the water was no more brown, but greenish blue towards the island. Rameshwarm imports all the food since the soil is infertile, they mainly survive on fishing. The temple complex was beautiful. It has numerous wells, which contain fresh water unlike the salty sea water. It is nature's magic since both survive together. Lord Rama had to bath in all those wells to wash away his sins for killing Ravana before entering the griha where Shiva rests. A road trip to the tip of India awaited next. There was the Arabian Sea on the right and the Bay of Bengal on the left. Both of different hues. The weather was cloudy. We lost network connection at the end. On our way, there were ruins of the flood, the jail, the church, the houses destroyed. It has a gloomy effect on us. We stood on the sand as we watched the two seas merge into each other flawlessly. 

Ruins

Towards Rama Setu

The Tip of India

Our trip consisted of seeing a lot of South Indian temples. They were all well-crafted in stone. Commonly, a temple was spread across a huge piece of land. The temple complexes were a series of courtyards and alleys. The roof of Garbh-griha was separated by a continuous strip from the Pradakshina path. It bought subtle light into the usually dim interiors. The temple complexes were huge thus we would hire a guide to show us around. There were huge monoliths of various gods and goddesses crafted in ways unimaginable. Unlike most temples in India, you are not offered sweets any the Pandit here. In fact, one is not allowed to enter the garbh-griha in most temples. One has to pray to the deity from a distance. Men and women do not have separate lines or entrances. Although you need to pay a minimal amount to enter the temple for which you are given a receipt.

The Shri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Tiruchirappalli was the most interesting of all. Spread in an area of 155 acres, it has a hall of 1000 pillars, a library of ancient scriptures, monoliths and statue of deities, water tanks. The Gopuram (gate) bound the temple on all four sides. One has to walk or drive past 3 Gopurams to arrive at the main entrance. Local people have settled between the boundaries offsetting the main temple complex. One can shop, eat outside the temple complex. We drank what our cab driver said the best-filter-coffee-of-Tamil-Nadu outside the temple precincts. It was truly what I was looking forward to.

The next day we had to visit many more temples. By this time I was bored of visiting temples. Unlike my brother who read every detail on Google beforehand I liked being curious about what was next in my pot of joy. A UNESCO world heritage site, the Brihasdisvara Temple built during the Chola Dynasty was the first place on the list. The temple is built in a courtyard which has a 1:2 ratio. The walls of temples has inscriptions of the Chola period crafted in granite rock. Later in the day we visited a palace, ruins and one more temple built during the Chola Dynasty.

Next stop was Puducherry. The first day we visited nearby places and Auroville. One needs at least 2-3 days to roam Auroville. We briefly saw as much as we could. It is a long trek to Matri Mandir from the information center. It is situated in the core of self-sustaining village. One needs to inform few days prior to go inside the Mandir. I wish I had more time in Auroville hence I have promised myself to go Pondicherry once again. Paper and book fanatics must visit the Aurobindo Paper facotry. The next day the weather went bizzare. The previous sunny day converted into heavy rains. It was now, that I got to experience the beauty of yet another South Indian temple. The rain pour down the walls and in the courtyards of the temple complex creating music. In the evening we went to the Puducherry Promenade to eat chana-masala again. The sky was coloured in pink and purples hues. The waves washed the shore gently. After a lot of searching we found Dilliwala 6, a vegetarian's heaven. We would leave Chennai next morning.

Puducherry Promenade

I had not anticipated something that happened 15 days prior to the day of leaving Mumbai. Our thesis submission dates were postponed which granted more time to work on our books. I needed more than 15 days to finish my work. I had second thoughts, however, I gritted my teeth and worked hard to finish my work. Rather than spending 13 days in South India on the trip, I decided to come back early. I would have regretted not going!

I was in Chennai with family for a day, my last day of the trip. Chennai reminded me of South Mumbai - the port, the colonial buildings, the banks and the port trusts all lined up one after the other. One can see the Marina Bay beach from the light house. It takes a while to reach the shore since the beach is quite long in width. The Santhome Church here is nearly as important as St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. We also visited South Asia's largest library viz. Anna Centenary. Book lovers can easily spend an evening here.

A view from the Madras Light House

I need to add that unlike the chaos in a non A/C coach going from Mumbai to up north, the experience in a South bound train was extremely different. In a layman term, I can say that people were mannerly and disciplined. Considering our experience of non A/C coaches we were skeptical about booking tickets between destinations. To our relief we had pleasant time travelling.

I couldn't let go of my fake "Tamilian" accent (politely - my Tamil hangover), days after returning Mumbai. I called a rickshaw-wala 'Anna' (brother) when I asked him to take a left. I later also gave tapri-wala (a small food outlet), my order in English (since it was the only language we could communicate in the South). This action earned me quite a few we-know-you-went-on-an-amazing-vacation 'looks'.